Lawrie hooked on winning feeling

Peter Lawrie admits that the “blood, sweat and tears” needed to win his first tour title has given him an adrenaline addiction that will be hard to kick.

The Castleknock touring pro, 34, has yet to take in the magnitude of Sunday’s heart-stopping, sudden-death win in the Spanish Open.

But he confessed that the adrenaline rush he felt during his titanic struggle with Ignacio Garrido has left him hungry to win again.

Itching for the buzz of next week’s Irish Open at Adare Manor, Lawrie said: “It hasn’t sunk in yet to be honest and it will take a few days.

“It took blood sweat and tears and while I just wanted to give myself as many opportunities as I could to win, I never thought I would have to go through what I went through.”

Lawrie knows all about the eye-popping tension of battling for victory after lifting the 1996 Irish Close title and then taking 2002 Challenge Tour Grand Final to earn his tour stripes.

But the adrenaline rush he got on Sunday was bigger than anything he has ever experienced and he wants to go through it again and again.

He said: “The pleasure you get out of it comes from competing rather than what comes afterwards - being in that situation and having the adrenaline is where it’s at.

“And when you win, you want more. It is like amateurs playing golf or people going to the gym, you become addicted to it.

“I was prepared for Ignacio holing his putt to force the play-off. But I have to admit that I have never been through anything like it. Not even close.

“When we went out for the play-off I just said to myself, ‘I am not going to lose this. Nobody is going to take it away from me’.”

Lawrie got a thrill from being greeted by his family and tour pal Damien McGrane at Dublin airport in the early hours of Monday morning.

But he is just as pleased with his jump to 12th on the Order of Merit, guaranteeing his third appearance in the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama.

And while his rise to 18th in the European Ryder Cup Points List is not something he is too concerned about, he has plenty more goals to achieve this season.

He said: “Winning was only one of the goals for the year. There are plenty more and one of them is to capitalise going into the next couple of tournaments.

“I have a couple of other goals, such as trying to move up those world rankings a little bit. But I am not going to worry about it too much about the Ryder Cup. That’s a long way away.”

After firmly establishing himself on the European Tour over the past five seasons with four top 70 finishes in the money list, he doesn’t see himself as a rags to riches story.

He said: “That might have been close to the mark before I got on tour, but for the past five seasons I have been very comfortable.

“I haven’t come remotely close to struggling for my card in five years. I am established player and I got my rewards.”

Lawrie pointed to his short game as key to his win in Seville - especially his putting.

He said: “I have been practising hard on my short game over the last few months at Castleknock Golf Club. The greens are fantastic, which has helped my short game come on leaps and bounds. I would doubt there are better greens to practise on in Ireland.”